Education
Undergraduate: University of North Texas. Graduate: University of North Texas/Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE)
Experience
Small-Business Owner (Shoemaker), Eagle Scout, Board Member and Active Volunteer with organizations including LULAC, Seguin Downtown Business Alliance, the Christian Cupboard (Food Pantry), Community Cycles Seguin.
Campaign Phone Number
(830)507-3479
My experience campaigning taught me that prestigious degrees, awards, and success don’t mean anything if politicians are only there to serve donors and party leaders. I've met with voters across the district to understand our challenges - we have to elect someone who will fight for us, or we’ll continue to go unheard.
Although I’ve got my fair share of qualifications, my uncompromising commitment to do the right thing is what I’m known best for. I’m ready to create alliances with other problem-solvers in the legislature to tackle the rising cost of rent, insurance, healthcare, and food. These are the issues that matter most to voters, and have the greatest impact on quality of life. That’s my only agenda, and I’d appreciate your vote.
Last election fighting for our public schools was my signature issue. Millions of dollars were spent to make vouchers seem like the solution to all our problems. But why would we trust lawmakers to fix a problem they created? They starved our districts of funding, vilified teachers, and passed unfunded “safety” mandates. In other states with voucher programs, academic performance has, at-best, matched prior public school systems, so what’s this really about? Funneling public money into private hands.
Our communities deserve better resourced public schools, teachers deserve better pay and respect, and students deserve a holistic curriculum that broadens their perspective and prepares them to compete in a much more complex world.
One of the biggest reasons I’m running is because healthcare costs have derailed the lives of too many people I love. Premiums are unaffordable so people skip preventative care and wind up in the ER, often when it’s too late. Families shouldn’t have to declare bankruptcy because of medical bills, but it’s happening.
Medicaid expansion would provide healthcare to millions more Texans, a major step in the right direction for uninsured families, but it would also bring down costs for all of us. Even though the majority of Texans support this, the governor has used his political power to kill previous efforts. That’s why elections are so important; in Austin I’d fight for what's best for our community, not cower to the governor and his donors.
Although state leaders have gone all-in to make it seem like Texas is eager to be a data center hub, I’m skeptical that’s what Texans want.
Data centers consume tons of electricity and water, and offer few jobs. To serve them, energy companies have to make big investments. But instead of developers paying these costs, energy companies are passing them on to residential customers. They expect us to subsidize the world’s richest companies - that’s not right. Water’s a similar story. We’re already worried about how to stretch our resources to provide for a growing population, we can’t be taking on such big demand when so much of the state is vulnerable.
The jobs we’re promised just don’t justify the tradeoffs we have to make to get them.
Education
BA - The George Washington University, MBA/MHA - Baylor University, PhD - University of Pennsylvania (Wharton Business School)
Experience
My name is Steve Schwab and I am a veteran, economist, and college professor. I am also the father of three wonderful children, and a husband. As a leader in the Army for over two decades, I always chose the right thing over the easy way out. As an economist, I understand the impacts of our policy decisions, now and in the future. As a college professor and parent, I know our children are our future, and we must equip them with the resources they need as previous generations did for us. My work in the Army and as CFO of Brooke Army Medical Center has prepared me to be a leader for our district. I know how to execute a mission and advocate for the needs of our most vulnerable populations, and plan to bring that experience to the State House.
Campaign Phone Number
7262007654
I am a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, a Wharton-trained economist, and a college professor. As a leader in the Army for over two decades, I always chose the right thing over the easy way out. As an economist, I understand the impacts of our policy decisions, now and in the future. As a college professor and parent, I know our children are our future, but we must equip them with the resources to succeed, as previous generations did for us. My work in the Army, including three tours in Iraq and culminating as CFO of Brooke Army Medical Center has prepared me to be a leader for our district. I know how to execute a mission and advocate for the needs of our most vulnerable populations. I plan to bring that experience to the State House.
My plan focuses on funding, assessment reform, and public accountability.
Funding: Secure dedicated State funding to fully cover special education services, alleviating the financial burden on districts and ensuring all students receive the support they need. I will also sponsor automatic inflation-based adjustments to the basic allotment.
Assessment Reform: Reduce the weight and frequency of high-stakes testing in favor of more balanced accountability measures such as formative assessments, project-based evaluations, and professional teacher assessments that better reflect student learning and development.
Public Accountability: Any school receiving public dollars, whether public or private, will be accountable to the same standards.
Healthcare policy should be grounded in dignity, freedom, and opportunity. Research has also repeatedly shown that helping people regain their health has numerous economic benefits that exceed the costs of care. Here are 5 specific proposals I will introduce:
Expand Medicaid - Texans already pay 90% of this cost in federal taxes.
Eliminate co-pays for generic drugs and branded drugs without an alternative. Copays are counter-productive when applied to essential medications.
Reduce the influence of Pharmacy Benefit Managers so that savings reach patients.
Restore reproductive freedom - personal medical decisions, including reproductive care, belong with patients and doctors.
Expand funding for rural and critical-access hospitals.
While data centers can bring job creation, tax base growth, and economic diversification, data center water use is projected to reach 400 billion gallons annually, or 7% of total statewide water demand by 2030. As our district already faces water stress, Families, farmers, and first responders should never be forced to compete with industrial facilities for basic water security.
In HD-44, policy should ensure that:
New large facilities demonstrate long-term water availability before approval; Residential, agricultural, and emergency water needs come first; Non-potable or recycled water is used whenever feasible; Developers help fund new water infrastructure or conservation measures when additional demand is created.
